Exploring Chinese L1 Students’ Understanding of Plagiarism at an English-Medium University

Abstract

Academic literature and anecdotal evidence suggest novice English L2 writers from socalled Confucian Heritage Cultures (CHCs), and Chinese writers in particular, frequently struggle to avoid plagiarizing. After reviewing the literature on plagiarism among Chinese writers of English, I present results from a survey of Chinese-speaking ESL students (N = 20) in their first weeks of coursework at an American university. The survey explored student understanding of plagiarism and their first contact with the word in both their home country and the United States. Most students possessed either no understanding or an imprecise understanding of plagiarism. Many students conflated plagiarism with other academically dishonest behaviors such as cheating on exams or copying homework. Pedagogical implications for English-medium universities in Japan are discussed.